M

MAC See mandatory access control.

MAC privileges The special privileges that allow authorized subjects to bypass certain portions of the system's security policy.

macro (1) A simple user-written program that links a set of commands in order to carry out a particular repetitive task.
(2) In SQL*Forms, a feature of a form that alters the operation of a function key.
(3) An AOS/VS text file that is distinct from a .SQLscript, and is executed by the Command Line Interpreter.
Macros usually have the filename extension .CLI.

mail code An address of an individual or group within On-Line Support's Electronic Mail System.

mail pair An association between a sender and receiver of electronic mail.
You cannot send mail to a person or group unless you are linked with the recipient as a "pair" in correspondent tables.
The pairs display on your Correspondent screen.
This term does not apply to Oracle*Mail.

mailing label layout Default layout that prints records in multiple columns on the page.
Fields appear directly beneath each other in a single repeating frame.

main menu A menu of major functions displayed to a user upon starting SQL*Forms or SQL*Menu.

maintenance release The second identifying number of ORACLE software.
In V6.0.10, the maintenance release number is 0.
See also version number and revision level.

major objects Major objects are collections of minor objects; for example, the DBA_USERID, BACKGROUND_MACHINES, and SHARED_SEGMENTS.

mandatory access control (MAC) A means of restricting access to information based on labels.
A user has a label (or clearance) and an object has a label (or classification) which are compared to determine whether access to the object is allowed.
Because these access controls are always enforced in addition to any discretionary control implemented by users, this type of security is called mandatory.

mandatory field A SQL*Forms field characteristic in which a field is required to have a value and may not be null.

map To make a view visible on the display screen.

mapped routine In a procedural gateway, an Oracle PL/SQL representation of a 3GL routine in the target system.
See also Transparent Gateway Administrator utility.

mapped table In a transparent gateway, an Oracle table representation (view) of data from the data source.

margin An optional report region that surrounds each logical page in the body region.
The margin may include any layout object, but typically contains boilerplate and fields (for page numbers, page totals, grand totals, and current date and time).

markings The true sensitivity of information.
They are used in compartmented mode workstations (CMWs).

master block A block that is associated with a detail block in a master/detail relationship.
Records displayed in the detail block are detail records associated with the record displayed in the master block.
See also detail block.

master control program This program is run by the network master machine.
The program allocates server machines to ORACLE processes as they log on to ORACLE, and auto logs the server machines.

master detail (1) A many-to-one relationship between blocks on a form or groups on a report.
(2) In Oracle Data Query, the column heading and entry that appears at the top of each page.
Users define a column as a master detail if they want the column heading and the entry that starts each page of the report to appear separately on the first line of the page.

master-detail relationship A relationship between blocks that reflects a primary-foreign key relationship between the tables on which the blocks are based.
The master block is based upon the table with the primary key; the detail block is based upon the table with the foreign key.

master function When the same function appears in more than one place in a function hierarchy, one of these will be designated to be the master function.
The other copies will be designated common (slave) functions to that master.
Only the master can have the full detailed definition recorded against it, including the ability to have further function decomposition.
See also common function.

matrix cell A print direction that prints each record of a repeating frame as the cell in a matrix.
See also matrix report.

matrix diagrammer A software facility, available within CASE*Designer , which enables you to create and change matrices interactively.
Matrices are between two associated elements types and include: Function: Entity; Function: Business Unit; Function: Module; Entity: Business Unit; Entity: Table; Module: Table; Module: Module; Node: Node; Node: Module; Node: Table.
Any new element type added to the repository by the user extensibility facility can also be matrixed to its associated element types.

matrix layout A default layout similar to a grid; it displays a row of labels and a column of labels, with information relating to both the row and column labels appearing filling the cells of the grid.

matrix report A report showing a cross-tabulation of data from three groups.
The values in one group form the rows, the values from the second group form the columns, and the values from the third group form the cells.

mechanism A particular technique or technology for implementing a function.
Examples might be a telephone, a computer, an electronic mail service.

media recovery Recovery performed after media (for example, disk) failure.
Hardware failure prevents the reading or writing of data and thus operation of the database.
Recovery steps vary depending on where the failure occurred.
See also instance recovery.

medium The physical conductor of a network.
See also fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, and twisted pair wire.

megabyte (Mb) A unit of memory equal to 1,048,576 bytes (1024 x 1024).
Often rounded to one million bytes.

memory structures There are several basic memory structures associated with ORACLE: the system global area (which includes the database and redo log buffers, and the shared pool) and the program global areas.
Memory structures complete several jobs.
For example, memory is used to store program code being executed and to store data that is shared among database users.

menu A menu offers the user a method for issuing commands to the user interface.
It consists of a menu bar containing menu items that represent the available menus.
Each item has a pull-down menu consisting of one or more menu items that either represent commands or methods of navigating to other menu items.

menu bar A horizontal display of menu items that appears at the top of the display screen or window.

menu command See menu option.

menu item (1) A choice that operators can select at runtime to specify the next action.
(2) A rectangular label containing text or an icon that represents either a command or a submenu.

menu line In Oracle*Mail, SQL*Forms V3.0, and SQL*Menu V5.0, the display of menu choices that appears at the top of the screen.

menu module A definition file of menu objects, menu items, and substitution parameters.
A menu module can contain only one menu.

menu option An individual command listed in a menu that enables you to invoke the specified action in Oracle Data Browser.

message line A line on the screen in which SQL*Forms displays prompts, error messages, and similar information.
The message line is customarily the next-to-last line on the screen, immediately above the status line.

message logging server (oralogd) The ORACLE log dmon, oralogd, bundles together messages from all the processes running in an ORACLE subcube and transmits the bundled messages to a log file.

Message Transfer Agent (MTA) See postman.

meta model The CASE tools provide various alternative modeling techniques at both the business and implementation levels, such as entity relationship modeling.
When designing a CASE tool these models must themselves be modeled.
This is known as meta modeling.
A example would be to add new properties into the CASE tool.
See also extensibility.

model group Specifies the order and occurrence of an element's subelements or character strings in SGML.
.

minor objects Minor objects are grouped by major object.
GENERAL and TWOTASK are minor objects of DBA_USERID; ARCH, DBWR, LGWR, NMST, PMON, SMON, and VMST are minor objects of BACKGROUND_MACHINES; and COD, SGA, and UTL are minor objects of SHARED_SEGMENTS.

mirrored control files Similar to the mirrored redo log feature; a number of identical control files may be maintained by ORACLE, which updates all of the simultaneously.
The loss of one such control file therefore does not cause the database to halt, as long as other control files are available.

modal window A window that elicits a response from the operator before the application can continue.
See also modeless window.

mode An indicator of the type of operator action allowed at any particular time.
The runtime modes are normal, Enter Query, Edit, Insert, Replace, and Debug.
(2) A System Network Architecture (SNA) mode defines the flow control and synchronization levels of an SNA protocol session between two tools or applications.

mode transition Switching between the real mode and protected mode of MS-DOS.

modeless window An unrestricted window that can have as much functionality as the runtime window manager can support.

modifier key A key that, when pressed with another key, changes the meaning of the other key.
The Control, Alt, and Shift keys are modifier keys.

module (1) A definition file of a single form, menu, or library.
A module can be saved into the database or into a binary file.
(2) An object that can be shared by more than one report, as well as by other Oracle products.
Reports, external queries, displays, and external PL/SQL libraries constitute modules.
(3) A procedure that implements one or more business functions, or parts of business functions, within a computer system.
Subsequently, a module will often be implemented by a computer program.

module data usage Each module data usage records a table or column that is used by a module and summarizes the operations the module performs on it.
A module can have only one module data usage for any given table or column.
Information referring to multiple uses of the same table or column by a module is recorded in the form of module detailed table usages.
Module data usages are automatically created and maintained to reflect the entry and amendment of module detailed data usages.
See also Module Detailed Data Usage.

module detailed data usage Records a specific use of a table or column by a module.
A module may have many module detailed data usages for any given table or column.
Module data usages are automatically created and maintained to reflect the entry and amendment of module detailed data usages.

module network Modules (or program modules) may be arranged in a network in the sense that a module may be broken down into sub-modules, or a module may be used as a sub-module of several others (e.g.
a common subroutine).
By this means a network of modules may be created.

MONITOR A SQL*DBA command that DBAs can use to bring up various full-screen displays reflecting current database activity.

mount To associate a database with a started instance, in order to perform maintenance on the database or to open it and make it accessible to database users.

mounted database A database associated with an ORACLE instance.
The database may be opened or closed.
A database must be both mounted and opened to be accessed by users.
A database that has been mounted but not opened can be accessed by DBAs for some maintenance purposes.

mouse A pointing device, attached to a workstation, which can be used to pass x, y coordinates to a program via its pointing facilities.

MOVEREP Executable command that converts Version 1.1 reports to Version 2.0 reports, stored either in database tables or files.

MPM See Multiprocessing Monitor.

MRC See Message-based Reliable Channel.

multi-instance mode A database that has been started (mounted and opened) in Shared mode, in the expectation that multiple instances will access it.

multi-instance system See shared-disk system.

multicommunity connection A connection between an initiator and a destination that belong to different communities.
The connection passes between at least two communities, by way of one or more Interchanges.

multilevel secure (MLS) The ability to store and manage data of different sensitivities on a single system while preserving data security through discretionary and mandatory access controls.

multi-line field A field in the design interface (such as a window or dialog) that extends for several lines, allowing you to scroll vertically through the information.

multi-record block In SQL*Forms, a block that displays more than one record at a time.

multi-user mode An ORACLE Server operation in which many users may simultaneously access the database and thus share common data.
This mode requires the background virtual machines, whereas single-user mode does not.

multi-word terms The combination of two or more words (such as hydrogen chloride) that gives rise to a new meaning, which should be entered in the index.

multiple-process A mode of database operation that allows several users to access a database concurrently.
Also called multiple-user; contrast with single-process.

Multiprocessing Monitor (MPM) A formal MVS subsystem that creates the environment in which ORACLE runs.
This is the means by which the ORACLE database is controlled.

MultiProtocol Interchange An Oracle networking product that establishes and maintains connections between clients in different communities in a TNS network.
Also called Interchange.

multitasking operating system An operating system that can handle programs in parallel and is capable of performing background processing.